So my truck started making the "click of death" last week while I was 100 miles from home....of course. The first couple times it did this I was able to get it running by wiggling the wires on the solenoid. The connections were kind of rusty so I figured this was the problem. Next day it took a tap on the starter to get it running. Since I had it running I made the 200+ mile round trip home to swap it with my other ride.

I changed the starter on this truck probably a year and a half or so ago. I'm pretty sure I used an AutoBone starter and I'm sure I would have bought the better version with the lifetime warranty.....yeah, yeah I know.....

Anyway, my questions are: do these trucks eat starters, are AZ products total junk and finally, who makes a good rebuilt starter? I only use this truck on weekends generally but in the winter months I use it more. With a foot of snow coming Wednesday i want it working. I'll forego the warranty on the starter* and buy another one if anyone can tell me a reliable maker. I can't have the truck STB like this on me......

And just to be safe, I am also changing the solenoid.

* I thought about this. I'll buy another starter and use the replacement AZ starter as my spare. Make sense?

 

mine went prob 5 years ago now. I replaced it with a motorcaft and still going strong.

 

I may check prices on the MC starter but the dealers like to ream you on parts. If there wasn't a foot of snow coming I could wait. Maybe I'll check prices on the OE part.....

 

If the starter was faulty "wiggling the wires" would not get it going. Before replacing it I would check and clean wiring connections and grounds (including battery posts and wire terminals). Just my thoughts.

 

Whenever I need a new starter I like to go to the junkyard and get one and the put a new starter drive in it. The guy who owns the junkyard I go to is a good man, and I often get them for free. Then I go to the parts store and make a new starter for $13.

 

I know - I thought I was lucky. I think all that was happening was that I wiggled the wires and when I got back in it happened to start. Same thing probably would have happened had I sat in the truck and picked my nose for that amount of time.

What I didn't mention in the original thread was that I tried using a pair of jumper cables to jump over the solenoid and it wouldn't spin. I also tested the solenoid with a voltmeter and it was sending voltage to the starter. Finally, a light tap on the starter motor did the trick.

I did check with the 'Bone and they found on the computer that I bought the "Gold" version of their starter so I will get a new one tonight. I plan on also changing the solenoid and the lead to the starter just in case.

Thankfully when I did the first starter replacement I thought to use Grade 8 bolts and anti-seize compound. I'm sure someone here warned me to do that.

 

OK, fair enough. Good luck.

 

The rebuilt starters you buy at the autoparts store are crap. Just like rebuilt alternators. I learned my lesson with both, now I bite the bullet and buy new. My dad always told that a rebuilt part was "little more than someone elses piece of s***." If you do what rostena does you should be alright, a competent person rebuilding one part in their garage can achieve a much higher degree of quality control than children working in an Chinese or Mexican sweatshop.

I have had good luck with Autolite Pro Platinum starters and alternators from Schucks. 100% new with lifetime warranty.

 

Well, here is the rest of the story. The starter actually was a new starter when I bought it in August of 2006. Man does time fly - I'd have sworn it was only a year or so ago. Anyway, AutoBone swapped it out with a new part - also a brand new starter (it's a Duralast, made in Mexico). I also swapped out the solenoid since one of the posts was spinning in the bakelite. Decided against the battery to starter cable. Hopefully don't regret that one day.The entire job, including a 16 mile round trip to the 'Bone in rush-hour traffic took about two hours. Man do I love having a garage even though I have to leave half the truck sticking out and close the door only to the bed.Now, regarding rebuilt versus new versus rebuilding oneself, I have varying opinions. The starter is a permanent magnet motor - not very rebuildable. But, when it comes to buying rebuilt stuff, I have no problem with that. When I first got out of the service I worked for a guy whose business was electric motor sales and repairs. He swore by rebuilt electric motors because each one was done by hand and none ever left the shop without full testing. I've had new stuff dead out the box so maybe he was onto something.And finally, a funny 'Bone story. The new starter had a wire lead on the solenoid terminal instead of the spade connector mine had. The doofus there told me I should cut the lead and splice a spade terminal on it. I said "why not just change it out?" He told me he didn't know it would come off. I pointed to the nut on it and said it would easily be swapped. It was. I did it with a pair of pliers since goofball and the "Parts Sales Manager" couldn't figure out how to do it. Other than that they were great to deal with. Didn't even test the dead starter. Sorry for the long paragraph. The site isn't letting me format for some reason...

 

They upgraded the newer rebuilds with a bolt on terminal. The spade terminal causes alot of problems.
I too went through a couple NAPA starters and finally bought a Motorcraft. I returned the NAPA starter under warranty, and kept the new one as a spare.

 

Mine has one bolt on terminal and the other is the spade. The wire that came on the new, new starter had a wire with what looked like a crimp connection. Since I didn't want to cut and splice anything I just stayed with the spade terminal. It actually attaches via a bolt on the starter. I put some dialectric grease on it and it seems like a pretty secure connection. That's good to know though, thanks.

 

Hope you have good luck with the starter and don't have trouble because of the old cable. I swore off Duralast products when I went through 2 solenoids within a year.

 

I hope so too. The cable looks like it is in good condition and other than when starters go bad the truck turns over and starts fine. The solenoid I'm a little concerned about since it does seem a little cheesy. Maybe I'll break down and buy a Motorcraft to carry around as a spare.

I'm certainly not a big fan of the Duralast line myself. The 'Bone just usually gets my business in a pinch since they are open more and have more locations near me.

 

I just went thrugh 5 napa starters in 2 months. The man at Napa said it had to be somthing wrong with my truck. I took the starter off my other truck to try .It works perfectly.This one came from Bond auto.The Napa starter were noisy then they wouldn't engage at all.The last one lasted 5 starts .

 

There is a TSB about the spade terminal on the starter. Just replace it with a ring terminal. There was a sheet of paper talking about it that came with my last new starter. It also came with a pigtail to splice into the wire to add the ring terminal. The issue is that the spade terminal doesn't always make a good connection. That was actually my problem the last time I needed a starter. I ended up getting a free starter (lifetime warranty) even though it wasn't even the problem.